Two crooks stole two bags of cigarettes from a Tesco store just stones throw from Tottenham’s £1 billion stadium.
The hooded pair stormed behind the counter and swiped boxes of fags from the cabinet.
One security guard didn’t try to stop them.
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But he was heard reporting the theft on his headset.
The pair then calmly fled the supermarket and brushed past customers walking in.
They had their loot in two holdalls.
One of the crooks briefly dropped something from his bag as he left.
It happened at the Tesco store, opposite Seven Sisters Tube station in South Tottenham, north London.
The supermarket is just a mile from the Premier League club’s 62,850-capacity ground.
It happened yesterday (Nov 26) morning.
One shocked onlooker filmed it on their mobile phone in a 22-second video.
Locals had mixed reactions to the brazen crime.
One said: “Security guards might as well work from home.”
Yet Umu Sesay added: “As bad as it seems, imagine being a security guard and the thought of not coming home to your children.
“For saving cigarettes that will be covered by insurance.
“I don’t blame him.”
Another said: “Why did he not just lock them in until the police arrive?”
Damian Clarke claimed: “It’s nearly £40 for 50g of tobacco in the UK.
“But it’s only £9.20 for the same pouch in other countries.
“The tax is over 300%.
“This is exactly the reason why stuff like this happens in the UK.
“People are being legally robbed by the Government.”
Tony O’Connor agreed and said: “Them cigarette prices though.”
A sixth added: “This is getting out of hand.”
It comes amid a shoplifting crisis in the UK triggered by the cost-of-living crisis.
Last Monday, a crook stole nine drinks from Greggs in Norwood Junction, south London, as reported on Need To Know.
Earlier this month, hero security guards locked an alleged shoplifter in a branch of Iceland, Stoke Newington, north London.
The Met Police and Tesco have been approached for comment.
